American Chopsticks

ABSTRACT

A chopstick having fork like structure is disclosed that comprises of a pair of elongated horizontal members supported by fork like structure at their tip and attached to each other via a semi rounded groove like structure. The fork like structure at the tip of chopsticks facilitate people of all ages an easy grip over the food and makes it easier for the users to eat and further makes the chopstick suitable for wide variety of cuisine available. A packaging for the chopstick is also disclosed, which has an elongated rectangular structure with a curved tilted end. The chopstick is made from soft bendable wood or bamboo.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

MICROFICHE

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

This invention disclosure is related to an improved chopstick to make the use of chopstick convenient across the different cultures apart from Chinese culture.

(2) Background of the Invention

Chopsticks are shaped pairs of equal length sticks that have been used as the traditional utensils of China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan for thousands of years. Chopsticks originated in ancient China and later spread to Vietnam, Korea and Japan. They can also be found in some areas of Tibet and Nepal that are close to Han Chinese populations. Chopsticks are smoothed and frequently tapered, and are commonly made of bamboo, plastic, wood, or stainless steel. They are less commonly made from porcelain, silver, ivory or jade. Chopsticks are held in the dominant hand, between the thumb and fingers, and used to pick up pieces of food.

Chopsticks originated in ancient China as early as the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 BCE). [8] The earliest evidence were six chopsticks, made of bronze, 26 cm (10 inches) long and 1.1-1.3 cm (˜0.5 in) wide, excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang (Henan) and dated roughly to 1200 BCE; those were supposed to be used for cooking. [9][10][11] The earliest known extant textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the Han Feizi, a philosophical text written by Han Fei (c. 280-233 BCE) in the 3rd century BCE.

The first chopsticks were probably used for cooking, stirring the fire, serving or seizing bits of food, and not as eating utensils. Chopsticks began to be used as eating utensils during the Han Dynasty. Chopsticks were considered more lacquer ware friendly than other sharp eating utensils. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that chopsticks came into normal use for both serving and eating. They then acquired the name kuaizi and the present shape.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,173 titled “Combination Fork Chopsticks” proposed combining the fork functionality and the chopstick functionality within a new utensil that is a fork at one end with a curved (arc) design at the other end design as one element. In contrast, the present invention as described below is clearly different in design and structure and how the eating utensil is to be used. One difference is that in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,173, the two chopsticks are two prongs of a single element, which makes it less flexible than traditional chopsticks to open and close the two prongs. The present invention keeps the chopsticks attached via groove and further supply chopstick with a coupling member, which makes it much more flexible to open and close the two chopsticks.

Further U.S. Pat. No. 7,628,432 provides a spoon function, but it fails to make the design of chopstick feasible to ensure proper gripping over food.

The present invention fork chopsticks solve the technical problems associated with the current chopsticks. It is a fork chopstick, chopsticks rods are connected to each other by a curved surface in between the elongated pair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention disclosure discloses an improved chopstick, having a distinct design that facilitates the easy pick up of food from plate. The current invention chopstick is modified at the tip of the chopstick, it is supplied by pair of fork like structure at tip. The primary object of the current invention is to provide a chopstick that can easily pick up food from plate.

It is further an object of the invention to make convenient westerners learning to use chopsticks, bridge cultural exchanges between Chinese and Western restaurants.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a chopstick that is suitable for large variety of cuisines.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a chopstick that is easy to manufacture and has reliable construction.

It is further an object of the invention to provide a chopstick that is suitable for people of all age groups and to help children practice chopsticks for children to master the use of chopsticks faster method.

Other objectives of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the invention has been shown and described. These objectives are not to be construed as limitations of applicant's invention, but are merely aimed to suggest some of the many benefits that may be realized by the apparatus of the present application and with its many embodiments. In addition to the various objects and advantages of the present invention described with some degree of specificity above it should be obvious that additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those persons who are skilled in the relevant art from the following more detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of chopstick for the present invention.

FIG. 2 is perspective view of packaging of chopstick of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention disclosure discloses an improved chopstick that is flexible and easy to operate. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the chopsticks two elongated horizontal members connected with each other via semi rounded groove 1, the chopsticks horizontally elongated pair 2 is supplied by a fork like structure located at the tip of the chopstick 3 which facilitates easy grip over the food and makes it easier for the user to eat and further makes the chopstick suitable for wide variety of cuisine available. The present invention chopstick is further supplied with a packaging. The package has plain rectangular elongated structure 5 having a curved tilted end 4. The chopstick disclosed herein is made up preferably soft bendable wood or bamboo.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement, which is calculated to achieve the same purpose, may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the present invention.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. 

We claim:
 1. A chopstick having a fork like structure at its end supplied with a packaging.
 2. The chopstick as claimed in claim 1 is made up of soft bendable wood or bamboo.
 3. The chopstick as claimed in claim 1 has two horizontal elongated members supported by fork like structure at its tip.
 4. The chopstick as claimed in claim 1 is supplied by an additional packaging.
 5. The chopstick as claimed in claim 1 has its horizontal elongated member attached to each other via semi rounded groove like structure.
 6. The packaging for chopstick as claimed in claim 5 has a plain rectangular elongated structure having a curved tilted end. 